India not a party to Norway brokered ceasefire: Pranab

Chennai, Oct 26 (UNI) Asserting that India was neither a party to the ceasefire earlier initiated by Norway nor it had broken it, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the ongoing ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka could not be solved in a short span of time.

Talking to reporters after a 90-minute long meeting with Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on the Lankan issue, Mr Pranab, who airdashed to Chennai as an emissary of AICC President Sonia Gandhi, said India's stand was clearly made known by the Prime Minister and himself that there could not be a military solution to the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.

''As far as ceasefire is concerned, we are not a party to the ceasefire implemented at the initiative of Norway. We have not broken the ceasefire,'' he added.

''As far as India is concerned, we cannot restore the ceasefire on our own. We are asking for a political solution to the more than four-decade long enthnic conflict,'' he added.

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